After going down earlier this morning to update the site in preparation for selling the new iPads, the Apple Online Store is back up with both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 available for pre-order. Current ship times for each model shows 2-4 business days while Apple said yesterday the new iPads would begin shipping by the end of next week. Buyers are reporting delivery promises of Thursday, October 23rd.
The iPad Air 2 is available starting at $499 for 16GB with this year’s $599 model including 64GB (over 32GB in previous years) and $699 model including 128GB (over 64GB in previous years). Each model is also available with cellular connectivity built-in for $130 more with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile supported in the United States.
Meanwhile, the iPad mini 3, which adds Touch ID and a gold color option to the previous Retina iPad mini, is available starting at $399 for 16GB with a 64GB model available for $499 and a 128GB model available for $599. Each model is also available with cellular options for $130 more same as the iPad Air 2.
Apple has made iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 pre-orders available in the following countries and territories: US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau (Wi-Fi models only), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Apple says Croatia, Greece, Puerto Rico, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and other locations will see availability ‘through the end of October’ while even more countries will see availability ‘in the coming months.’
Apple has said that the new iPad models will
